Three Composers Recognized with Special Distinction:Karim Al-Zand, Jane Antonia Cornish, Robert J. Frank

New York, NY, January 16, 2008: The ASCAP Foundation is pleased to announce that Jack Jarrett has been named the recipient of The ASCAP Foundation Rudolf Nissim Prize. The Prize was awarded for autumn too long, an 18-minute setting of the poetry of e. e. cummings for soprano and orchestra. The work was selected from over 315 submissions. Jarrett receives a $5,000 cash prize.

Dr. Rudolf Nissim, former head of ASCAP's International Department and a devoted friend of contemporary composers, established this annual prize through a bequest to The ASCAP Foundation. The Prize is presented annually to an ASCAP concert composer for a work requiring a conductor that has not been performed professionally. A jury of conductors selects the winning score.

Jack Jarrett, a native of Asheville, North Carolina holds bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in Composition from the University of Florida, the Eastman School of Music, and Indiana University, respectively, as well as a Diploma in Opera Conducting from the Berlin Hochschule für Musik. Principal composition teachers were Bernard Rogers, Bernhard Heiden and Boris Blacher. In addition to teaching in several American colleges and universities, he has held a Fulbright grant, a Ford Foundation grant as composer in the public schools (Oshkosh, Wisconsin), and an Aspen Conducting Fellowship. He has conducted over twenty opera productions, and for two years served as Assistant Conductor to the Richmond, VA Symphony Orchestra. More than fifty major orchestras, including London, St. Louis, Cincinnati and the Boston Pops, have performed his orchestral compositions and arrangements. His published works include a four-movement "Choral Symphony on American Poems" (Carl Fischer), a twenty-minute "Tribute to Gershwin" (Warner Brothers) and a number of choral works (G. Schirmer, Lawson-Gould and Bourne). His works can be heard on Albany Records (Symphony No. 1) and Denouement Records (Concertino for Piano and Chamber Orchestra, with Jarrett himself as soloist).

From 1989 until 2001, Jarrett taught at Berklee College of Music where he served as Chair of the largest composition department in the world. There he trained both traditional and film composers, and oversaw Berklee's unique technology-based training program in conducting, which incorporates software of his own design.

Since 2001, Jarrett has been Vice President of Research and Development for Notion Music, Inc., where he is principal designer of the NOTION line of music software products.

The Nissim Jury also recognized the following composers for Special Distinction:

Karim Al-Zand (Houston, TX) for City Scenes, three urban dances for orchestra, an 11-minute work; Jane Antonia Cornish (Palisades, CA) for Symphony No 1, a 20-minute orchestral work in four movements; and Robert J. Frank (Dallas, TX) for Fast Falls the Eventide, a 12-minute orchestral work in one movement.

The judges for this year's Nissim Prize were: JoAnn Falletta, Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Virginia Symphony; Delta David Gier, Music Director of the South Dakota Symphony, and Conductor of the New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts; and Markand Thakar, Music Director of the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra and the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra.

About The ASCAP Foundation
Founded in 1975, The ASCAP Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to supporting American music creators and encouraging their development through music education and talent development programs. Included in these are songwriting workshops, grants, scholarships, awards, recognition and community outreach programs, and public service projects for senior composers and lyricists. The ASCAP Foundation is supported by contributions from ASCAP members and from music lovers throughout the United States. www.ascapfoundation.org